Police are on the hunt for a con artist who would have allegedly swindled money out of a businessman who thought he was in the process of purchasing a car.
Satnarine Deonarine, of Meten-Meer-Zorg, West Coast Demerara (WCD), became interested in purchasing a car that was advertised on “What’s for Sale Guyana” Facebook Page, and contacted the seller, Timothy Payne.
The businessman told police that the seller wanted $800,000 for the vehicle. The businessman jumped on the deal since he thought the selling price was way beyond reasonable for the Nissan Bluebird.
Upon enquiring the reason for the car being sold so cheaply, Deonarine was informed by Payne that the woman who had imported the car had died and as such, he wanted to clear it before it was left to rot.
The men made arrangements to meet in front the John Fernandes Wharf on Tuesday morning and Payne collected $300,000 from the businessman as ‘bond fees’.
Soon after, Payne informed Deonarine that he was going to gather some documents, but never returned.
After waiting for some time, the businessman and his wife thought something was amiss and went to make enquiries and discovered that the same man had conned a woman out of $500,000 only last week.
Upon hearing this, Deonarine attempted to contact Payne, but all calls to his phone went unanswered.
The businessman immediately went to the Brickdam Police Station where a report was made.
The businessman has put up a $100,000 reward for anyone who knows the whereabouts of Payne.
